Left Bank Is Back Open For All Of Leeds To Enjoy

Left Bank Leeds is a multidisciplinary arts venue set an amazing Grade II* listed former church building. Our mission is to preserve our amazing venue in order to inspire and empower our community via a sustainable programme of arts and events that promotes creativity, connection and wellbeing.
We had a chat with Helen Tulloch, the marketing coordinator of Left Bank, about what the venue have been up to during lockdown. They've put in a tremendous amount of hard work behind the scenes, making Left Bank a more inclusive, creative and accessible venue for all of Leeds to enjoy.
"So during lockdown we had a lot of time to think about who we are as an organisation – what we do, how we do it and who we’re doing it for. We want to be an open and inclusive space for Burley locals and the wider Leeds community, and we’ve made some changes to fit with that vision.
Unlike a lot of venues, we’re very lucky that we have such a big building and have plenty of space for people to keep their distance while still being social. We’ve now expanded our food and drink offering so that we can function as a fully fledged café, 10am-4pm weekdays. We really want to share this beautiful space, so we’re open to people coming in to use it in all kinds of ways, from freelancers and homeworkers to artists, performers and filmmakers.
We’ve also created an entirely free summer programme, as a way to welcome people in and introduce ourselves to new audiences. We know a lot of people have kids in tow at the moment, so lots of our events are family friendly and we’re also doing free healthy lunchboxes for kids.

Last weekend, we hosted a fun reopening party with Sela Pizza, Northern Bloc and Meanwood Radio. It was a super chilled day, with everyone sitting in their bubbles and enjoying the good vibes! We also commissioned 10 artists from Assembly House to paint up some picnic benches for us, inspired by the colours in our stained glass window, which looked awesome in the garden.
Our upcoming events include street dance classes, hip hop workshops, experimental art classes, creative meetups and live music in the garden. We’re really excited about that last one – each Friday in August (1-9.30pm), we’ll have a series of live sets from local musicians. We’ve collaborated with Keep Streets Live, a local organisation that supports professional musicians and buskers, and aims to draw attention to the difficulties they’re facing during lockdown. The events are free to attend but people can donate to the artists (or charity of each artist’s choice) if they like. We’re envisaging lovely, intimate sets in the sunshine"
You can head to Left Banks Site for more info HERE.